This should enrage the American Woke Folks who dedicate themselves to wiping out Petipa's masterpiece.

        Vladimir Malakhov is taking his re-imagining of Petipa's La Bayadere into Asia. That's right, Ukrainian-Russian Malakhov is taking the Golden Idol, The Great Brahmin, slaves, temple dancer, shades and the whole nine yards right into Hong Kong with Brazilian Marinela Nunez, Ukrainian Iana Salenko, and Russian Vadim Muntagirov as guest artists with Cuban-American Septime Weber's Hong Kong Ballet. Yep, he's going to toss Petipa's fantastical imagining of long-ago India right in the faces of the adoring Asian audience.

        The promotional video looks spectacular. Note the use of the finger positions that the American Woke Folks find so offensive and intolerable. Honestly, the Americans had better get on the case and get over to Asia to explain to the Asians why they should be offended by this fantastical Russian romanticizing of storybook India.

        Our little pink renegade in the red Azalea Corps de Ballet of Lincoln Center's Damrosch Park has appeared at last. Seemingly always late getting to the stage, she didn't show up this year until it was almost time for bows – like something out of Jerome Robbins' The Concert.

        But oh, isn't she a beauty. Funny how this garden parallels life. Just when we were thinking how we really missed so many of Balanchine's big ballets — although the season's offerings have been nothing to sniff at — out trotted this big old beautiful rose-scented Robbins ballet that we hadn't seen in years to bring a little extra enchantment to the garden. Brandenburg hasn't been seen in a decade and a half on NYCB's stage, and oh what a beauty of a ballet it is. It's full of surprises and humor, full of imaginative step combinations, full of ballet comfort & beauty, and exquisitely danced by its cast of twenty. How did this ballet get left out of the Robbins 100 Festival a few years back?

        For his last ballet, Robbins borrowed the best from himself for Brandenburg. At times, it even looked like he was reminiscing about his excursion with Tharp. The intense focus on clean structure seemed almost architecturally engineered. There were so many appealing arrangements of dancers that the ballet could be a poster for the Elements of Composition: pattern, focus, contrast, balance, rhythm, whatever. Even the dated costumes looked charming with their girly sleeves for the women and masculine-like rolled up sleeves & vests for the men. How did this ballet get left out of the Robbins 100 Festival a few years back?

        Indiana Woodward and Anthony Huxley anchored the first of four sections with their charismatic PdD, but it was the Corps de Ballet that stole the spotlight with their joyful dancing. As lines of dancers trafficked through one another in complex formations to the music's 137 beats per minute (it begs to be steppy), some looked a bit unnerved by the combination of speed and complexity of the choreography. Positions went awry once or twice, but it was never at risk of devolving into, say, the opening of Glass Pieces. Dancers' lifted their arms high in V formations during allegro like Paul Taylor's dancers did when they happily skated through the same music in Taylor's Brandenburgs created a decade prior to Robbins' ballet. Just the fact that both Taylor and Robbins were drawn to this same music is confirmation of its danceability, dancesuasiveness, and danceliciousness.

        The incredible centerpiece of this ballet was delivered by Mira Nadon and Aaron Sanz, two dancers whose own imaginations opened more possibilities for this choreography than perhaps Robbins, himself, ever imagined. The PdD was a welcomed reminder that PdDs are not about continual manipulation of the woman's body or 10 minutes where the entwined dancers can't let go of one another. Here we saw the dancers separated physically half of their time, their limbs circling each other's limbs without touching or at times dancing the same steps apart — no physical connection but oh were they ever communicating.

        Also on the program was a spirited performance of Robbins' Fancy Free led by sailors Roman Mejia, Joseph Gordon, and Andrew Veyette; Passers-by Mary Thomas MacKinnon, Alexa Maxwell, and Malorie Lundgren; and Maxwell Read as the Bartender.

        Balanchine's Agon was the serious soul of the program which opened and closed with Robbins' infectious joy. Unity Phelan, who is just starting to wrap her legs around this lead role, didn't exhibit the expected authority and sharpness during the iconic moment when she spun around before throwing her leg in attitude behind her partner, Adrian Danchig-Waring. Taylor Stanley debuted his Sarabande solo to the difficult Stravinsky horn passage, and Emilie Gerrity gave a crystal clear rendition of the Bransle Gay, if a bit demure.

        Our H.H. Pump Bump Award, Louboutin's Lip Chick patent pump, is bestowed upon Mira Nadon and Aaron Sanz for their extraordinary interpretation in Robbins' Brandenburg.

        Arriving at our blessed $38 seats for our first view of Christopher Wheeldon’s new “abstract” work for New York City Ballet entitled From You Within Me, we were met by a front scrim bearing the stunning atmospheric painting by Kylie Manning. Rich marine blues and greens suggested a water scene, perhaps the ocean or a glen or an inlet surrounded by lush landscape. It was a lovely reminder of ABT’s Swan Lake curtain. Noting that Wheeldon had chosen to use the same Schoenberg music that ABT’s Antony Tudor used for his dramatic Pillar of Fire and had lifted a line for the title from the Dehmel narrative poem which inspired both Schoenberg and Tudor, we began to wonder, “How could Swan Lake-ish scrim + Pillar of Fire music + Dehmel narrative reference = abstract ballet?” 

        There are some patches in the garden that need to be filled in. The NYC Department of Parks should pay more attention to our iconic azalea garden in Damrosch Park and put up a few classy signs that say “No Dog Pee” and “No Big Apple Circus Pee,” peeleezzee — not that such a message would resonate with the neighbors who routinely run their tiny dogs atop the garden retainer walls and encourage them to seek relief among the azaleas. Attention must be paid. We may have to get Gale Brewer involved.

We think we predicted this some years back. If Sara Mearns was going to get a Juliet, it would probably be Ratmansky's. And yes, it will be so.

On June 16th in Toronto, Sara will dance Juliet opposite Guillaume Côté's Romeo which will mark his retirement of the role at the National Ballet of Canada.

Patience wins.

. . . the azaleas in Damrosch Park, that is.

        It's not that there wasn't some of that going on last night at NYCB, too.

        Terrific debuts, a long anticipated return, and a more successful cohesive effort among corps members marked this third performance of the spring season.

        Isabella LaFreniere's debut in Concerto Barocco was nothing short of stunning. Such surgical precision coupled with daring space-gobbling we rarely have seen in this ballet. Her entrance variation with its off-balance developpes and literal musicality was so bold and fearless that it brought back memories of the courageous dancing of Jennie Somogyi.

        After an absence of several months due to injury, Sara Mearns returned with her own successful debut in Concerto Barocco partnered by Russell Janzen. The choice for her comeback was a bit risky, but this dancer has never been one to shy away from risk either. We look forward to seeing the LaFreniere-Mearns-Janzen trio again on Saturday evening.

        It would seem that when the principal cast of Concerto Barocco is as statuesque as last night's, the corps should also be made up of similar women. However, this corps, on its third try, achieved better uniformity than in the opening two performances.

        We've seen enough of Kammermusik No. 2 to "get it" and appreciate the difficulty of dancing the complex choreography. But really, how compelling would it be without the swinging ponytails? Seven performances of this ballet may be over-kill.

        It was hard to believe that we were, for the very first time, seeing Tiler Peck in Raymonda Variations, a ballet previously painted with the individuality of Violette Verdy and Kyra Nichols. All of a sudden the dancing matched the dreamy, classic beauty of the landscape scenery. A whiff of lilacs, a warm breeze to the face, the freshness of a new perspective — it was all there. So individual and so lovely. We loved the spontaneity of Tiler's musicality — it just came out of her like a birdsong. Her pas de deux with Joseph Gordon was sublime and offered a beautiful soft quality in the arabesques and port de bras. Gordon created his own Romantic universe augmented by impressive variations with skimming brise voles and easy, buoyant grand allegro.

        The soloists had mixed success. Olivia MacKinnon's first variation began successfully but then faltered with limping hops on pointe that went nowhere. Baily Jones made no mistakes in the second variation but made no impression either. Christina Clark was gorgeous in the fifth variation and showed incredible control of all that natural length. Mary MacKinnon showed once again that she's a jewel worth polishing and polishing in her debut of the sixth variation. Malorie Lundgren managed the seventh variation competently but without being very interesting. These soloist sections of Raymonda have missed Ashley Hod's and Sara Adams' contributions. They also could have benefited from Emma Von Enck, Alexa Maxwell, Brittany Pollack, and (when are we going to see more of) Naomi Corti.

        Our H.H. Pump Bump Award, flammes de Louboutin, is bestowed upon Isabella LaFreniere for her blistering debut in Concerto Barocco.

        Not everyone was in full bloom last night at the opening performance of NYCB's spring season, but we balletomanes didn't care. Spring season always starts with peeks at new growth; it doesn't start at the peak.

        We fully enjoyed the cool commonalities in the pairing of Ashley Laracey and Unity Phelan in Concerto Barocco. Showing the beauty of the steps and musicality were their goals, and both dancers delivered with their customary selfless generosity. Ashley's delicate, sweeping limps and Unity's softly curving lines complimented one another. There could have been more of a daring stretch in the two legged slides that rotate to a penche arabesque but that's probably not something we should expect to see in a debut. Tyler Angle's partnering was, of course, perfection.

        The corps de ballet of Barocco is traditionally a cast of very senior corps members. There are reasons for it which became evident last night when several less senior dancers were inserted among the consummate precision of Olivia Boisson, Jacqueline Bologna, and Mimi Staker. Oy, was there some messiness. Their minds were not of one, that's for sure. But there was also a stunning example of pure devotion to exacting efficiency. We're talking about Lauren Collett who is one of the most organized, efficient, clear-speaking, get-it-right-every-time, right-on-the-money-while-always-looking-calm-and-lovely corps women we have observed in quite some time. Ava Sautter was also disciplined and able to keep up with the senior dancers.

        The entire cast seemed initially surprised by the blessedly speedy tempi; but after a few deep breaths, most seemed to catch their strides. Looking forward to tonight's second try.

        Not even Andrew Litton's charming and humorous "See the Music…" segment sold us on Kammermusik No. 2. It's more of a technical exercise than a ballet. However, right away we noticed the difference in Emilie Gerrity's dancing. Gone was the stress. Gone were the anxious expressions that sometimes conveyed that she was torturing herself with self-doubt. She was confident, stylish, bubbly, and at ease with the ridiculously complex musicality. Mira Nadon shone in her solos and bravely plowed through the vexing duet with Emilie where Mira had to dance the same steps but one-eighth note behind Emilie. The women were ably partnered by Harrison Coll and Aaron Sanz. They and the men's corps of eight clearly enjoyed only having to share the spotlight with two women — albeit two major ballerinas. All the men were well-drilled; Davide Riccardo and Christopher Grant stood out for the purposefulness of their dancing, and well yes, their legs and overall handsomeness.

        Raymonda Variations was a magnificent showcase for the speed and clarity specialties of Megan Fairchild and Anthony Huxley. She, always bright and musical; he, always elegant and humble about his absolute mastery of his craft. We have to grant him the occasional luxury of the moment as in last night's ridiculous balance off of a pirouette where he finished in a still pose with his back to the audience.

        Some of the soloists fared better than others. Emily Kikta astonished with her control of her long limbs in the rond de jambe movements. Claire Von Enck had sturdy hops on pointe, but they didn't travel on the diagonal as they should have. Lauren Collett impressed with her polish, efficiency, and calm beauty. Unfortunately, the duo of Emily Kikta and Nieve Corrigan in the final grand allegro had some fouetté issues. They fell far short of the Emily Kikta/Ashley Hod duo from last September. Nieve wasn't up to the tasks in either Raymonda or Concerto Barocco. Rommie Tomasini's spirited dancing made us look forward to seeing her much more — the sooner the better.

        Even though Kammermusik No. 2 was our least favorite piece of the evening, the poise-filled performance of Emily Gerrity in it made us extremely happy. The H.H. Pump Bump Award, a cool sandal with an untethered strap, is bestowed upon Emily. Can't wait to see what's in the works for her for the fall season.

We're literally fainting over the fall season. There are so many different programs that will bring such joy to the faithful and so much opportunity for so many dancers to shine. We may end up penniless, but we'll be happy!

Jewels
Western Symphony
The Unanswered Question
Tarantella
Stars and Stripes
Bouree Fantasque
Agon
Slaughter
Apollo
Sonnambula
Tsch Piano Concerto #2
Concerto Barocco
Prodigal Son
Symphony in C
Serenade
Orpheus
T&V

Winter and spring seasons bring extreme joy, too:

Fancy Free
In the Night
The Four Seasons
Barber Violin Concerto
4Ts
Liebeslieder
Ballo
Halleluja Junction
The Concert
Symphony in Three Movements
Tchai PdD
Stars & Stripes

They're going to be dancing their feet off all year. Finally, such a fabulous sense of programing.

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Just dropping in to say how incredibly excited we are about ABT's new Wheeldon production of Like Water For Chocolate that will open at the Segerstrom Center in one week. Old Hag would be there for the premiere but for a very recent knee replacement.

Christopher Wheeldon's growth as a choreographer/producer/director/visionary over the past decade has been nothing short of phenomenal. The rehearsal clips for this new production that are floating around are turning us into Chocoholics. We can't wait. Hopefully, ABT will launch a slick promotion campaign very soon. This production, if carefully promoted, should attract Broadway audiences as well as audiences for every genre of dance. We want to see Cassandra Trenary at the bus stop, underground, in Times Square, and in the Playbill at MJ, the Musical.

ABT single tickets go on sale April 24, 2023. Let's go let's go let's go.

        New York City Ballet closed the season with a terrific Sleeping Beauty that was a mere handful of balances short of spectacular. But we'll take it and be thrilled.

        It had been a stressful, head-scratching, hand-wringing 72 hours since Thursday's Sleeping Beauty which turned out to be like the perfect souffle that unexpectedly got knocked flat as it was nervously being pulled out of the oven. Did Chef Ramsey stop by to straighten out the kitchen staff with his charms? Whoever did, we're grateful.

        Our Aurora, Isabella LaFreniere, soared on her second try and delivered a truly beautiful, distinctive, authoritative, intelligent, principal-worthy performance. At her birthday party, Aurora was not a giggly, Tiktoking 16-year-old. Rather she was a teenager, impeccably groomed with royal manners, who was on the brink of being handed the kingdom once she found the right prince.

        Overall, the Rose Adagio was beautifully danced but for the attitude balances which while improved from the debut performance were not yet realized. However, the final arabesque balance was of such formidable shape and steadiness that we almost forgot the seven before it. Aurora's arabesque balance, rather than being static, grew and lengthened with the music. The prior attitude balances, however, were static attempts where the energy line from the foot to the head seemed perforated rather than flowing upward continuously. Though motionless, a balance is still an expansive movement — an inner flowing of energy that rises and expands right through the top of the head. It's never about holding still although it may look so to the audience.

        Hats off to The Suitors Christopher Grant, Taylor Stanley, Gilbert Bolden and especially Harrison Ball who swiftly escorted Aurora around for the final promenade before she punctuated the phrase with her exclamatory arabesque.

        The Vision Scene was nothing less than triumphant. Aurora's apparition was elegant and soulful, almost whispering warm encouragement to Prince Désiré. Peter Walker as her Désiré fit the bill from head to toe. His partnering was impeccable and his solo dancing was outstanding except for a wild pitch on a double tour to arabesque.

        The Wedding PdD gave Désiré the opportunity to display some of the most tightly zipped-up legs during double tours that we may have ever seen followed by soft landings to clean fifth positions. Aurora's Wedding variation was pure heaven: delicate pointe work, beautiful shaping of the phrases, poise, and polish. The duo's first two fish dives were magnificent in their speed and daring. The third one was a bit more tentative, but oh my goodness, what a difference from 72 hours before!

        Emily Kikta as the Lilac Fairy was gorgeous as well. Sunday's performance just seemed more expansive, more confident, more meaningful in its presentation than Thursday's had been. The spotlight adores this ballerina. It is difficult to pay attention to anyone else when she is on stage. It is our hope that her ongoing stellar contributions will soon be rewarded with a promotion. While it is true that her glorious statuesque frame might limit the number of potential PdD partners, it should not limit her accession to the principal level. After all, the absence of height that indeed has limited potential PdD partners and roles for Daniel Ulbricht did not prevent him from rising to the principal level in a mere six years. There is some distasteful incongruence in a practice of holding back women because they are deemed too tall while advancing men who are deemed too short.

        After the performance, four new principals were announced: Emily Gerrity, Isabella LaFreniere, Mira Nadon, and Roman Mejia. Congratulations to all. So now it's 13:9. Why are there 30% fewer women than men on this company's principal roster? Who do they think sells the tickets? Why are the women standing for this? Where is the union on this? Optics matter.

        But we digress . . . (on and off, now and then).

        Our Act I fairies on Sunday included Olivia Boisson as the Fairy of Tenderness, Nieve Corrigan as the Fairy of Vivacity, Lauren Collett as the Fairy of Eloquence, Miriam Miller as the Fairy of Generosity, and Olivia MacKinnon as the Fairy of Courage. Ashley Hod returned as the scene stealing Carabosse.

        All the fairies performed their traditional choreography competently but we yearned for the beautiful shaping that Jackie Bologna gave to Tenderness and the lightning force of Alexa Maxwell's Fairy of Courage that we saw over the course of the run of Sleeping Beauty. We seem to be seeing both Olivia MacKinnon and Baily Jones featured in soloist roles, but as yet neither has distinguished herself beyond getting the steps right in ordinary fashion whereas Bologna, Maxwell and Collett have continually offered much fuller framed artistry. And now we've suddenly become aware of the exquisite length and beauty of one of the newest corps members, Dominika Afanasenkov, who got a handful of performances of the Fairy of Generosity. We'd like to see more of what these special artists have to offer.

    Since we're talking about the corps members, let's talk about the corps de ballet. They were nearly perfect in Sunday's closing performance. The Lilac Fairy's Attendants in Act I and the Nymphs in The Vision Scene danced with flawless uniformity. The Cavaliers all had mammoth sissonnes.

        This closing performance was such a strong team effort with so many brilliant performances that we immediately wished that Sleeping Beauty would return again next season. It offers so much more than either of the company's Swan Lakes. And right now, the company has the exact strengths that it needs to fill multiple casts who can easily pull off two weeks of performances.

        Our H.H. Pump Bump Award, Louboutin's Chick Queen stiletto, is bestowed upon Isabella LaFreniere for her amazing comeback performance of Aurora.